The present invention relates generally to optical mirror mounts and more particularly to an optical mirror mount which is adjustable in pitch and yaw.
Optical mirrors are used extensively in optical systems for bending, splitting, focusing or redirecting beams of light. These mirrors are usually attached to some form of mounting device which is anchored to a supporting surface. In many optical systems, such as laser printers, it is essential that the mirrors, if mirrors are being used, be in accurate and precise optical alignment with respect to the impinging beam of light. Quite often, after the mounting device is affixed to the supporting surface some adjustment is necessary either in the pitch direction, the yaw direction or both directions.
In the past, adjustments in the pitch direction have been achieved by inserting one or more shims between the mount and the supporting surface. Some of the disadvantages of this technique are that it very often involves removing the fasteners used to affix the mount to the supporting surface, that it is time consuming, that it is not always very accurate and that it is sometimes very difficult to carry out successfully. In addition, the technique does not enable correcting for misalignment in the yaw direction.
Another approach has been to use ball and socket joint type mounting devices or double gimbel type mounting devices to hold the mirror on the supporting surface. Although these types of mounting devices enable controlled adjustments to be made in both the pitch direction and the yaw direction, they are rather expensive and hence not very practical for many applications.
Thus, the need exists for a mounting device for use in mounting an optical mirror on a supporting surface which is simple in construction, inexpensive to fabricate and adjustable in both the pitch and yaw directions.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved optical mirror mount.
It is another object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount for use in mounting an optical mirror in a generally upright position on a generally horizontal supporting surface and which is angularly adjustable in pitch and yaw.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount as described above which contains a minimum number of parts and which is easy and economical to manufacture.
It is yet still another object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount as desicribed above which does not involve the use of ball and socket type joints or double gimbel type joints.
It is another object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount which can be easily, quickly and accurately adjusted in pitch and yaw.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount which can be adjusted in pitch and yaw after it has been attached to a supporting surface.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount which is especially useful in directing a beam of light from a laser onto a rotating polygon mirror.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide an optical mirror mount which can be adjusted separately in pitch and yaw.